The Case of Bashful
by first-drops-of-rain
Summary: Bashful has been hiding his past from his friends all his life. No one knew what he's been through. But they are about to find out when his past returns to face him.
1. Chapter 1

Bashful's diary-Entry one

Dear Diary,

Living with my Uncle in these terrible conditions is becoming unbearable. I suppose I should be thankful to the man, he did raise me alone after my parents… left. However, he always throws away what little money we have on beer and always returns home drunk. Some days he arrives home in a cheery mood, and all I have to do is put him into bed. But sometimes, most times, he is angry and violent. It's times like these where I fear for my life. On those days it is better to keep out his way, fortunately there are many hiding places in our house. However, if I get in his way, he can be very angry and unpredictable. Yesterday he hit me, for no apparent reason. I hate it here and I want to leave, but I can't leave him. He's the only family I've got to take care of me and I'm the only family he's got to take care of him. I still dream of living in a much nicer place with people who take care of me. It's only a dream though and that's all it will ever be…

End of Diary entry

Grumpy tossed and turned in his bed. No matter where he lay he could not get comfortable. There was defiantly something digging into his back. Something sharp. Sighing, he got out of bed and felt under his mattress. His hand emerged with a bent fork. And another. And another. "How on earth does this even get into my bed?" He thought to himself. He glanced towards Dopey, who was sleeping soundly. "Probably him, or one of his pets put them here." He said simply. He sighed. "Well, I'd better put these back." He picked up the forks and went to the kitchen.

As Grumpy stepped into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Bashful standing there. Before he could question why he was there, Grumpy noticed that Bashful was doing something very strange. The younger dwarf was facing away from him and he had both of his hands in a small bowl. He seemed to be washing his hands, almost manically. He hadn't noticed Grumpy walk in. "Umm… Bashful?"

Bashful quickly spun around in shock, knocking over the bowl onto the floor. His eyes were wide with fear and he stared at Grumpy with alarm. "W-What are y-you doing here?" He asked. Grumpy looked at him in confusion. Bashful had always been shy and quiet, but now he seemed completely terrified of him. Grumpy bent over to pick up the bowl. "I was just –" Grumpy stopped. The bowl had been filled with water, but it had broken from the fall and it had leaked out. But that wasn't what made Grumpy stop. The water wasn't clear, it was dark red. Almost like it had been dyed with blood.

Grumpy looked at Bashful, who was now shaking. "Did you…cut yourself? " Bashful looked away from Grumpy to the floor. He then suddenly ran up to the bowl and started picking the pieces up with his hands. "Sorry. Clumsy. Clear away." He said quickly as he cleared all the mess off the floor. Grumpy looked at him. "Bashful, what-"

"Sorry for disturbing you Grumpy. I'll go now. "Bashful quickly scurried out the kitchen, leaving Grumpy alone to consider what had just happened.

"That was defiantly blood. But where was it from? Did Bashful cut himself? But why was he so scared? Did something happen?" Thoughts whizzed around Grumpy's head. He shook his head. "There must be a reasonable explanation for all this." He said simply. Even so, he decided to discuss the event with someone tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Bashful's diary-Entry two

Dear Diary,

Conditions in this hell are becoming increasingly worse. Uncle is spending more money than we can ever get and we are in very high debt. I fear that we may lose the house and be forced to beg for money on the streets. Our house is not really a home and never has been. There is only one small room with a fire stove that is never lit. Spider webs hang from the ceiling and many floorboards are missing. It's not a perfect place to live, but it's all we have. I don't dare go outside anymore due to the fact that I am covered in bruises and cuts and I have a black eye from where Uncle hit me. I am also incredibly pale and very thin. Uncle said I look like a human skeleton. I suppose it's true. How I wish I had the strength and courage to leave my uncle and find a place on my own. I'm not very bright, but maybe I could become an apprentice to someone. I can only hope though. Hope is all I have. Hope is the only thing I have.

End of Diary entry

It was a bleak cloudy day in Jolly wood. The sky was dark and threatened to rain heavily. Wind howled across the land and everyone seemed to be in a foul mood. All except one person.

"What a lovely day!" Happy exclaimed merrily, looking out of the window at the dark clouds. "I wonder if the Queen will need us today!"

"Happy by name, happy by nature." Thought Grumpy crossly, the dark weather had put him into an even grumpier mood than usual. It also hadn't helped that he hadn't had any sleep last night, especially with the Bashful incident. Grumpy glanced across at the timid dwarf who was sitting across from him. Bashful looked terrible, like he hadn't had any sleep all night. His skin was very pale, his eyes were dark and bloodshot and they darted around the room as if he was looking for something. Grumpy wasn't the only one to notice this.

"Bashful, are you alright?" Doc asked, concerned for the small dwarf. Bashful, now being noticed by the rest of the 7D, began to shake. His face turned red, which he quickly covered with his hat.

"Perhaps you have a cold?" assumed Sneezy, who's sneezes made it seem like he lived in an eternal cold.

"Maybe he's very sleepy." Mumbled Sleepy between snores.

"Either way, you don't look very well to me." Doc said sympathetically.

Suddenly the sound of bells filled the air in a familiar tune. "The Bing Bong Bells!" Happy declared joyfully! "We need to go and help the Queen!"

"I'll stay here." Bashful said suddenly. "You all go." The small man then quickly scurried into the next room, his face burning, his eyes watering. What if they - no. There was no way that they would know.

Grumpy watched Bashful leave. There was defiantly something wrong with Bashful. He made a mental note to inform Doc after they had helped Queen Delightful.

"Heigh Ho!"

The 6D arrived at the castle. Inside they found the queen spinning around in a tizzy, while Lord Starchbottom attempted to calm her down.

"What's wrong, Queen Delightful?" Grumpy asked

"Oh, the 7D! This is simply awful!" She cried.

"Someone's been killed!"

It was exactly as Grumpy feared.


	3. Chapter 3

Bashful's diary- Entry three

Dear Diary,

I am going to die. This seems like a strange way to begin a diary entry, but it is the truth. We will all die one day and I am no exception. My parents died, their parents died. One day, there will be nothing left of me but a faint memory of a small man and my name carved on a stone. I know I will die one day, but I don't want to. Especially not now. I want to do something with my life, go somewhere, and be something. This doesn't seem possible as I am currently lying on the hard ground under a blanket. I am not at my house. I don't want to go back there, especially if he is there. I know I will have to go back in the morning and my heart is beating at the thought of it. However, I am going to forget about that now and try to get some sleep. I hope the owner of this land doesn't find me…

End of Diary Entry

Grumpy said nothing as the rest of the dwarfs walked home, but then, neither of the other dwarfs had. The experience had been difficult for them. Nothing like this had ever happened in Jollywood before. Doc had been the only one who had seen the body. He was now trudging slowly at the back of the group, looking down. Grumpy walked next to him then, when the rest of the dwarfs were further away, he stopped him.

"What happened, Doc?" He questioned quietly, "Who was he? Did we know him?"

Doc stopped walking then, after making sure the rest of the 7d couldn't hear them he spoke.

"I don't know who he was. Not that you could recognise him after-"His voice trailed off. Grumpy looked at him with concern. In any other situation, Grumpy would have been the last person Doc would share information with. But now, Grumpy seemed more understanding then the others, so Doc continued.

"He was hit with a large rock of some sort. He didn't die straight away."

"Oh." Grumpy said. His thoughts went back to the night before. Bashful had blood on his hands. No! Grumpy shook the thoughts out of his head. Bashful was the most timid and least violent out of all the 7d. He would never hurt a fly. Even so, he had acted suspiciously last night. But maybe, Bashful saw something? Maybe he found the body first but didn't tell anyone? After Doc had given him some information, Grumpy decided to share his.

"Doc, there's something I should tell you-"Grumpy then recounted the events of last night to Doc. He explained about seeing Bashful with blood on his hands, how scared and anxious he had seemed and how he felt in the morning.

When he had finished, Doc looked shocked, but then looked down.

"There could be many reasons." He mumbled. "Even so, it still doesn't make any sense about what he was doing before." He stopped.

Grumpy looked at him. "What do you mean, before?" He asked.

Doc sighed. "Late last night, I heard some sounds outside. It sounded like someone was laughing or crying it was too faint to hear properly. When I went outside, the sound stopped." Doc paused. "Then I saw him."

Grumpy stopped. "By him, do you mean… Bashful."

Doc looked down, the nodded. "I was walking then I suddenly saw him. He was just-standing there, like a statue. It actually scared me a bit. He seemed completely confused where he was and how he got there. I guessed that he had been sleepwalking, so I just lead him back into the house."

Grumpy noticed the rest of the 7d in front of them, so he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Did he have blood on his hands?" He questioned.

Doc simply shook his head. "I didn't really notice."

The 7d cottage was now in sight of Grumpy and Doc. Grumpy glanced at Doc, who then nodded. They both agreed on the same thing and they knew what they had to do. It was time to ask Bashful some questions…

**Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I hope that it is worth it.**


End file.
